Cirrhosis of the Liver

SINCE Laënnec1 (1869) defined cirrhosis of the liver, it has become apparent that the disease may occur in a variety of clinical and pathological forms. Accepted etiologic factors contribute to hepatic disease in hemochromatosis, Wilson's disease and biliary or cardiac cirrhosis, but the cause of cirrhosis in the majority of patients remains uncertain. A common association of cirrhosis in the Western world is with alcoholism, although the specific effect of alcohol, malnutrition or other factors in its genesis has not been established. Frequently, no accepted clinical relation can account for the presence of cirrhosis, which has therefore been termed "cryptogenic." . . .